One afternoon about five years ago, Vincent Gagnon was heading west to Saskatchewan to buy a Cessna 185. Passing through Thunder Bay, Ont., he thought he’d stop and visit long-time friend Frank Kelner, founder of the Pilatus Centre Canada, then the Canadian distributor for Pilatus PC-12 aircraft.

It’s no secret that flying in the Canadian North brings its own unique set of challenges, and they’re not just environmental. Northern operators face economic, regulatory and logistical barriers not experienced by their more southern cousins; and they’re constantly changing.

Very early on the morning of Oct. 8, 1993, Calgary Police constable Rick Sonnenberg was attempting to lay down a spike belt to apprehend a stolen vehicle speeding down the city’s Deerfoot Trail. The young officer was struck by the charging car and killed instantly.